Squad Spends Big On Security While Demanding Police Defunding

As crime continues to rise nationwide, six progressive lawmakers known as “The Squad” have spent over $1 million on private security since the beginning of their push to defund the police. A Washington Free Beacon review of campaign filings discovered this eye-opening information about their security expenditures since May 2020.

Among the members of “The Squad,” Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) takes the lead as the most prolific spender, having spent $680,000 on personal protection services since May 2020. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) comes in second, spending $199,000 since the death of George Floyd. Even though Ocasio-Cortez has extensively used private security, she sharply criticized New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) this week for giving rookie police officers a pay raise from $42,000 to $55,000, the first increase in seven years.

Additional members of the group, such as Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) have spent $77,000, $53,000, and $12,000, respectively, on private security services. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), the sole male member of the “Squad,” spent a mere $7,900 on private protectors.

Bush spent around $200,000 in 2021 alone on private security firms like Peace Security and Whole Armor Executive Protection. Yet, despite her large expenditures on security, Bush continues to support defunding the police. In an interview with CBS News, Bush claimed that defunding the police would save lives and put money into “social safety nets.”

Ocasio-Cortez, the group’s second-highest spender on private security, shelled out nearly $75,000 throughout 2021. While advocating for defunding the police, she said, “Defunding police means defunding police. It does not mean budget tricks or funny math.”

Similarly, Omar, who spent over $30,000 on private security in 2021, called the Minneapolis Police Department “rotten to the root” and supported its dismantlement. Pressley spent roughly $14,000 on personal security in 2021, maintaining that defunding the police is “about true reparations” and “investment in communities.”

Bowman and Tlaib spent significantly less on private security in 2021, totaling $7,872 and less than $3,000, respectively. Bowman, who received a special police detail at his home following the Capitol riot in January 2021, has supported disarming the police in the past.

The amount “The Squad” spent on private security last year may seem significant. Still, it pales compared to the private security expenses of Stacey Abrams’ group, Fair Fight PAC. The group paid Atlanta-based security firm Executive Protection Agencies (EPA Security) over $550,000 between July and November 2021 and over $1.2 million throughout the year.

These expenditures raise questions about the motivations behind “The Squad’s” calls for defunding the police. While they enjoy the luxury of private security, the American public must grapple with the real-life consequences of reduced police protection.

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